“It’s good to see me, isn’t it?” she asks. “No need to respond. That was rhetorical.”
Nonetheless, Galinda, it is wonderful to see you.
Here in Northeast Ohio, we’re pretty experienced when it comes to catching the smash musical “Wicked” at PlayhouseSquare. The show is on stage at the State Theatre, marking the fourth time a professional tour of the Broadway show has landed at the downtown Cleveland performing-arts complex, playing to full houses each time.
If we needed a reminder of why we love this show -- which takes place before and during the events of Frank L. Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” -- this production will do it. As with previous versions, it’s heartwarming, hilarious and crammed with terrific musical numbers. (If you don’t enjoy the Act I-closing “Defying Gravity,” there’s just something wrong with you.)
The backbone of “Wicked” is the unlikely friendship of popular, pretty girl Galinda (Hayley Podschun), who will become Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and outcast Elphaba (Jennifer DiNola), the future Wicked Witch of the West. The bubbly blonde and the green-skinned brainiac are, at first, rivals, but they grow to be friends when Galinda feels badly for Elphaba at a school dance, when the latter dances by herself.
“I’ll say this for her: She doesn’t give a twig about what anybody else thinks,” says Fiyero (David Nathan Perlow), a dashing gent who hooks up with Galinda but who may just have more in common with Elphaba.
“Of course she does,” Galinda says, seeing her as a person for the first time. “She just pretends she doesn’t.”
The roommates are soon back in the dorm girling it up, sharing secrets and Galinda teaching Elphaba how to be popular, showing her important moves like tossing her hair and giggling.
Yet as Elphaba looks to expand her horizons and continues to work on sorcery with hopes of one day working for the Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Walker Jones), she can’t ignore the growing problem of bigotry toward animals, who are being oppressed and stripped of their ability to speak.
Their different priorities threaten their friendship, as, of course, does Fiyero. And when a certain flying house crushes Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose (Emily Behny), all bets are off.
Debuting 10 years ago on Broadway, “Wicked” still feels incredibly fresh. Based on the novel 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” the musical is very well constructed by Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics) and Winnie Holzman (book).
Few shows are able to combine comedy and cleverness with such wonderful music. Along with the aforementioned “Defying Gravity,” standout songs include “The Wizard and I,” “I’m Not That Girl,” “Popular” and “As Long as You’re Mine.”
The talent of this production’s two leading ladies is impossible to deny. Both are tremendous singers and have terrific comic timing, but we’ll give the slight edge in the vocal department to DiNola. As she sings “The Wizard and I” in the first act, it seems at first as though she’s bringing more character into the song than singing ability, which is perfectly fine and interesting. And then she just blows the roof off the place as she belts out the song’s climatic stretch. Fantastic.
And look, memory can be selective when it comes to this kind of thing, but it’s hard to believe we’ve seen a funnier Galinda than Podschun in Cleveland. At worst, she’s as good as any of them, getting big laugh after big laugh as she owns every one of her well-written one-liners, mispronunciations and ditzy moments. It is simply a joy to spend a couple of hours with her.
They’re certainly not the only talented members of this cast. Behny is more than impressive in her big Act II number, “The Wicked Witch of the East,” and Perlow is a fine Fiyero. Likewise, Beachwood native Alex Wyse makes an impression as Boq, a Munchkin who is in love with Galinda, who refers to him repeatedly as “Biq.”
From the sets (Eugene Lee) and the lighting (Kenneth Posner) to the costumes (Susan Hilferty), just about every aspect of “Wicked” is topnotch.
Is it the perfect musical? No, not quite. Like many shows, the second act isn’t as strong as the first. And a couple of numbers, such as the ironically titled “Wonderful,” are borderline snoozers.
Yet while other shows may be stronger in one aspect or another, few are as strong top to bottom as “Wicked.”
Yes, “Wicked,” it’s good to see you. Come back soon.

“Wicked” continues through Jan. 5 at the State Theatre at PlayhouseSquare in Cleveland. For tickets, $30 to $175, call 216-241-6000 or visit www.PlayhouseSquare.org.

About the Author

Mark is a lifelong Northeast Ohioan and an Ohio University grad. Along with loving music, movies and television, he is crazy about sports and tech. Reach the author at mmeszoros@news-herald.com
or follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkMeszoros.